


Becoming Andrew (five drabbles)

by queen_ypolita



Category: The Charioteer - Renault
Genre: 100-1000 Words, Challenge Response, Pre-Canon, linked drabbles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-12
Updated: 2009-06-12
Packaged: 2017-10-04 13:56:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_ypolita/pseuds/queen_ypolita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five drabbles on Andrew's life, mostly pre-book</p>
            </blockquote>





	Becoming Andrew (five drabbles)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [](http://www.livejournal.com/users/maryrenaultfics/profile)[**maryrenaultfics**](http://www.livejournal.com/users/maryrenaultfics/) fifth anniversary fic challenge, June 2009. The prompt was "write something with five", so I wrote five sort of linked drabbles.

1

The row over the letter had been going on for a week now, sullen silence at breakfast, disparaging remarks during the day, his aunt erupting into angry rants over dinner. It had felt underhand going behind his aunt and uncle's backs, writing to the headmaster, but he hadn't seen any other way, and it was out in the open now. The headmaster wouldn't have him, family or not. That was something, at least.

And here he was, writing another secret letter, this time to a man who had known his parents, hoping for advice to get out of this deadlock.

2

Going to a school run by Friends had been more than he could hope for after the row, but the school his aunt and uncle had settled on wasn't too bad. They made arrangements for him and the two other boys who were Friends to be able to attend the Meeting every month, and regarded it as a matter of course. It was more than his relatives had ever been willing to do. And Dave had given him two books after finding out they'd thrown out all his mother's religious texts. He felt no longer isolated from his own community.

3

He was surprised how free he felt after leaving school. Dave and Cynthia had invited him to stay until he went up to Oxford. His aunt and uncle had never allowed any contact beyond letters, so he expected they would turn the invitation down for him. When they said he could go if he wanted to, he knew it was because they were relieved they were finally able to wash their hands off him. He had always known they had taken him in out of duty, not affection. Now that they were finished with him, he was free at last.

4

The call-up papers came promptly, expected and yet not. It had been simple enough before they arrived, as a Friend he wouldn't have anything to do with instruments of war, but once he held the papers, he wasn't so sure any more. It shocked him. He thought of the decisions his father had made in his day, of his sense of duty for his country, of the reasons why this war was deemed fighting for, and of what he believed in as a Quaker. In the end, he found he couldn't surrender his moral choice to strangers he didn't trust.

5

Settling into hospital work went smoothly. Becoming the night orderly had seemed daunting at first but he soon found he enjoyed the calm quiet of the sleepy wards, occasionally electrifying into a bustle of activity. The men who had initially seemed hostile got used to the presence of c.o.s and swallowed their barbed comments. Dave was there to support and guide them. And the other c.o.s shared the same experiences and understood.

And there was the friendship with Laurie that made him feel warm inside when they bumped into each other, when they walked in the woods, when they talked.


End file.
